Patent GB-191104447-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Machinery for Hackling and Spreading Flax and other Long Staple Fibres.
IPC: D01B5/00
Filed: 1911-02-22
Granted: 1912-02-15
Abstract: 4447. Greeves, J. & T. M., Eves, J. V., and Shaw, P. Feb. 22. Heckling-machines; feeding and transferring flax etc.; gill boxes.-In apparatus of the class described in Specification 2876/09 for automatically transferring the stricks of flax from a heckling-machine of the type described in Specifications 17,437/99, 16,010/01, and 19,300/07, to a spread-board, gill frame, or tipple stool, the stricks are seized by a pair of grippers and removed from the holders and are received by a second pair of grippers which lay them upon a table or a tipple stool. The strick x, Fig. 2, is withdrawn from the holders b in the crosschannel B' of the heckling-machine by a pair of grippers D, E. The gripper D is carried by an arm D<1> mounted upon a lever d<2> and operated through a connecting-rod d<4> and lever d<3> by a cam on the shaft K. This gripper as it rises presses the strick x against the other gripper E, which is carried by an arm E' mounted upon a lever e<2>, and moving the gripper E against the action of the spring e<3> draws the strick out of the holder. The grippers D, E, which are counterbalanced by a weight W at the end of a strap w, carry the strick over to a second pair of grippers F, G carried by arms F<1>, G<1> loose on a shaft F<2> and operated by cams on the shaft K through connecting-rods and oscillating quadrants gearing with spurwheels f<4>, g<4>, Fig. 4, on the bushes on which the arms carrying the grippers are mounted. These grippers lay the stricks upon a table c, upon which they are acted by a rotary wiper or spreader H, comprising a curved plate carried by rotating arms h. The stricks are moved along the table c to the rollers C<1> of the spread board. The ends of the strick are removed from the holder b by a spring-controlled blade P operated by a bowl on the end of the arm E<1> engaging a lever p<1> fixed to the same shaft p<2> as the arms p carrying the blade P. The transfer apparatus is driven from the heckling-machine, so that it may work in harmony with it by means of a chain K<1>, Fig. 2. The cam shaft K is driven through gearing k<1>, k<2>, k<3>, k<4>, k<6>, k<7>. The spread-board is driven from the transfer apparatus by a chain from a sprocket-wheel t, mounted upon a shaft N driven from the gear k<2> through spur gearing t<1>, t<2>, and variable-speed gearing m<1> ... m<8>, n<1> ... n<8>. The speed of the spread-board is varied to give the required overlay of the successive stricks by means of a change wheel t<1>, while the speed is varied in accordance with the length of the stricks of flax by the variable speed gearing. The gears n<1> ... n<8> are loose on the shaft N, and anyone of them may be connected thereto by a sliding key n<9> operated through linked levers O, O<1> by a handle moving over a segment o provided with holes o<1> ... o<8>, which are engaged by a spring projection on the handle, and which correspond to the various required positions of the key n<9>. The sprocket-wheel t through which the spread-board is driven is connected to the shaft N by a clutch N<1>. This clutch is put out by a weighted lever Q, normally held out of contact with a cam-face on the clutch, but capable of contacting with it and opening the clutch when released by the action of a foot lever Q<1>. The clutch is put in again automatically at the next lift of the heckling-machine by a cam R which engages a link r and lifts the lever Q into its normal position again. If the heckling-machine is intended to work for tipples for the store, the table c is removed and the grippers F, G deposit the stricks upon the tipple stool. A suitable guide may be provided to facilitate this.